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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Autodesk Inventor

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AAutodesk Inventor 3D CAD software offers professional-grade 3D mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools. These blend parametric, direct, freeform, and rules-based design capabilities. Inventor includes integrated tools for sheet metal, frame design, tube and pipe, cable & harness, presentations, rendering, simulation, and machine design. It also features TrustedDWG® compatibility and Model-Based Definition capabilities for embedding manufacturing information directly in…

    $300

    12 days over 1 year via Flex pricing 100 tokens

    Bluebeam

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/ABluebeam Revu is a PDF management, control, and editing tool. It enables collaboration and markup within shared documents across projects’ life cycles and has takeoff and bid creation capabilities.

    $260

    per year per user

    Pricing
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Editions & Modules
    Subscription - Monthly
    $305
    per month per user
    Subscription - Yearly
    $2440
    per year per user
    Subscription - 3 Years
    $7320
    3 years per user
    Basics
    $260
    per year per user
    Core
    $330
    per year per user
    Complete
    $440
    per year per user
    Max
    $590
    per year per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsAlso available for limited use through tokens on a Flex plan.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Considered Both Products
    Autodesk
    Chose Autodesk Inventor
    Inventor is a more detailed modeling software then Revit or Fabrication. AutoCAD of course has been around for many years and will continue to have a place because it seems to be the base for all of the modeling software using .dwg file types. Inventor has the ability using the …
    Incentivized
    Bluebeam
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    94%
    Would buy again
    17 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    17 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    92%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    92%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Computer-Aided Design Software
    Comparison of Computer-Aided Design Software features of Autodesk Inventor and Bluebeam
    Feature
    Autodesk Inventor
    7.6
    3 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Bluebeam
    -
    Ratings
    3D Modeling8.13 Ratings00 Ratings
    2D Drafting7.73 Ratings00 Ratings
    Rendering and Visualization7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Parametric Design7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Collaboration and Sharing4.33 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compatibility with other software and formats7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assembly Design7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Simulation and Analysis8.53 Ratings00 Ratings
    Documentation and Annotation7.83 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization and Extensions7.93 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Autodesk Inventor and Bluebeam
    Feature
    Autodesk Inventor
    -
    Ratings
    Bluebeam
    10.0
    1 Ratings
    26% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Data exportability00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Construction Project & Field Management
    Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Autodesk Inventor and Bluebeam
    Feature
    Autodesk Inventor
    -
    Ratings
    Bluebeam
    9.8
    54 Ratings
    25% above category average
    Plan distribution & viewing00 Ratings9.752 Ratings
    Plan markups & sharing00 Ratings9.854 Ratings
    Issue tracking & punchlists00 Ratings9.733 Ratings
    Photo documentation00 Ratings9.736 Ratings
    Jobsite reports00 Ratings9.831 Ratings
    Document sharing00 Ratings9.847 Ratings
    RFI tools00 Ratings9.835 Ratings
    Collaboration & approvals00 Ratings9.842 Ratings
    As-built drawings00 Ratings9.845 Ratings
    Mobile app00 Ratings10.027 Ratings
    Submittal design and management00 Ratings9.821 Ratings
    Checklists00 Ratings9.93 Ratings
    Change orders00 Ratings9.93 Ratings
    Estimating
    Comparison of Estimating features of Autodesk Inventor and Bluebeam
    Feature
    Autodesk Inventor
    -
    Ratings
    Bluebeam
    9.6
    29 Ratings
    24% above category average
    Takeoff tools00 Ratings9.728 Ratings
    Job costing00 Ratings8.45 Ratings
    Cost databases00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Cost calculator00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Bid creation00 Ratings9.98 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Small Businesses
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    CMiC Construction Platform
    Score7.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Onshape
    Score6.4 out of 10
    Autodesk Build
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PTC Creo
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Revit
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (28 ratings)
    9.9
    (66 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.2
    (2 ratings)
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.8
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.1
    (12 ratings)
    1.0
    (11 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Autodesk InventorBluebeam
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Autodesk
    Autodesk Inventor is a great tool for students and faculty for engineering areas that don't require great precision or development of more thorough scientific results. Is you are conducting research, or deal with very intricate and complex systems I would recommend a more robust platform that complies more to industry standards.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bluebeam
    The program is great for editing construction drawings, stamping/approving official documents and overlaying revised documents to see design changes. You can use it as an estimating takeoff tool, estimating database, document control, cloud document storage, the list goes on! Bluebeam poses many applications for the user to utilize for the desired needs. There may be some other software that has one specific function that can perform the specific task better, but Bluebeam is a holistic program with many tools for use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Autodesk
    • The program is very good at simplicity. Each of the buttons, menus, and options has an explanation of exactly what the feature does, and even a more advanced description if you desire to learn more about what each one does.
    • Autodesk Inventor is a very fast program. Everything renders extremely quickly and there are no delays when examining a 3D model, part, or assembly. This is especially useful when giving a presentation about a product or design, and you need to be able to show a concept to an audience in real time.
    • The software has an extremely accurate simulation feature that lets users do stress analysis on a 3D model. It can calculate precisely where the stress concentrations are going to be in a particular model and even give you an accurate depiction of where the part could likely fracture and/or fracture during loading.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bluebeam
    • Once you set Bluebeam Revu as your default PDF handler, it launches immediately when clicking a PDF to open. The speed with which it opens documents is impressive.
    • Creating PDF's out of other documents, such as Word, Excel, JPG's, etc. is simple.
    • Digitally signing documents is a simple, secure process. You can keep your signature password-protected, yet still access it quickly.
    • The Bluebeam Revu mobile application ( I use the iOS version on an iPad Pro), is awesome. Not only does it handle PDF's like you would expect it to, it allows for effortless digital signing of documents on the fly. Nice to be able to quickly sign a document and email right back out from the tablet no matter where I am.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Autodesk
    • most if it still runs on a single core. Please fix this
    • Crashes. In our experience, too many crashes. We have high end machines and crashes are way too common.
    • Autosave. I think it is simply unacceptable that Autodesk Inventor combines common crashes with no autosave functionality. We feel this pain all the time.
    Incentivized
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    Bluebeam
    • If you have several tabs open and you try to drag one out for a side by side view then you do not have all the modification options and you have to combine them back together.
    • There is a lag time when hitting the print option.
    • There is also a lag time when opening files, sometimes I think the window is frozen.
    • I wish the basic version also had basic file editing, as in editing a document as Adobe does.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Autodesk
    Inventor continues to meet our enterprise needs. I don't see a need to change unless we change our business model significantly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bluebeam
    Bluebeam is a powerful PDF viewer and mark-up tool. We are more familiar with it than Adobe Acrobat Pro or other viewers, and it has more features geared towards construction document managers than Acrobat Pro does.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Autodesk
    It is quite user-friendly as long as you have the computing power to download and use it. However, this makes it quite inconvenient if you are trying to access files on different devices, as Inventor has to be loaded on all of those devices. While the program itself works just fine, it would be much better for my application if it, or a version, were web-based and allowed users to access and modify projects from anywhere.
    Incentivized
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    Bluebeam
    I'm constantly finding that Bluebeam Revu does more than I knew it could. And when I find something that it can't do, I've found that Bluebeam truly listens to its user base and will work to incorporate any good suggestion when feasible.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Autodesk
    I think the support for Autodesk Inventor is very good. The staff at our reseller were very knowledgable and able to walk us through problems pretty easily. The training we received was very good also. I will say that there were a couple of times we reached out to support with a question or challenge we had, and the support agent was not able to resolve our problem, and after touching base back we found out that there was not a solution for the problems we were experiencing. One of them was just how Inventor represents colors inconsistently at times, all things being equal. Another was that Inventor would not let decals on parts transcend to the assembly level. they just would not show up.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bluebeam
    Its hard for me to give a rating on this one as we rarely have to use the support feature for Bluebeam. However, when we have used it, they have been ultra supportive in helping us get exactly what we needed. I know another engineer was trying to figure out a feature and the rep gave a detailed tutorial on how to complete the task
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Autodesk
    I got the training during college, so mostly i learned on my own
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bluebeam
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Autodesk
    When it comes to solid modeling, the bad choices died out years ago. So we looked at the total ecosystem and chose Autodesk Inventor because of the integration with Nastran, HSM (machining), Autodesk CFD, MoldFlow, and AutoCAD. This means our legacy data (2D) is still a valid part of our design methodologies going forward, and we have the full breadth of engineering tools at our disposal. Other solutions in this space have similar offerings but not nearly as potent of a portfolio in total. It's worth saying that we do not consider Inventor in the same space as CATIA or NX, but that the entire Autodesk portfolio (e.g. Alias, PowerMill, etc) includes a total toolset that exceeds these industry giants.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Bluebeam
    We feel there is not another program out there that would compare to Bluebeam at this current time. Some of the other programs out there do not include studio or the overlaying process which is one of our main uses. The ease of hyperlinking makes this product stand out the most.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Autodesk
    • Working on a project designed with Inventor provides a modular design platform that can quickly be configured or changed as required. This allows for the quick turn around time for the design and revision of drawings.
    • We've used Inventor over the years (since 2013) and the updates and newly released versions of Inventor do not require re-training or restrict use.
    • Autodesk follows an intuitive approach and users or designers who have worked on other design platforms like SolidWorks can transition easily to Inventor.
    Incentivized
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    Bluebeam
    • A major positive aspect is being able to take your computer home without taking the entire set of paper drawings. They have made it so easy to navigate a set of drawings that I can work at home using only the digital drawings.
    • Collaboration with owners and architects has been a great feature. Setting up a Bluebeam studio and having everyone get in and mark things up, then having the architect be able to go in and see what markups have been added, has made the constructability review process much much better.
    • Even when not working on drawings, Bluebeam is a very good tool for working with standard PDF documents. The markup tools are very easy to use.
    • The negative aspect is the takeoff function because some people would like estimators to use the Bluebeam takeoff because it would make their job easier down the road; however, the actual act of doing a full scale takeoff in Bluebeam would require much more time.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Bluebeam Screenshots

    Screenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Markup ListScreenshot of Bluebeam Cloud with Tool ChestScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu MarkupScreenshot of Bluebeam Revu Studio Session